Recovery of food-taking in cats after lesions of the corticospinal (complete) and rubrospinal (complete and incomplete) tracts

The food-taking movement by which a cat grasps a morsel of food and brings it to the mouth is governed by interneurones in the forelimb segments (C6-T h1) and is normally controlled by the cortico- and rubrospinal tracts. It d isappears reversibly when these tracts are transected in C5. The reappearan ce after some time is at least in part due to a reticulospinal take-over of the command. We have compared the recovery after total transection of both tracts with that after lesions giving subtotal transection of the rubrospi nal tract but total transection of the corticospinal tract. With 4-6% of th e rubrospinal fibres left, the recovery of food-taking was clearly faster t han after total transection. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd and the Japan Neuroscience Society. All rights reserved.